Apsalus Hunt

"It can't be anything else. It's the Apsalus."

Shiro Amada, whose standby position was closer to where the sound came from, immediately reported what he'd seen over the comms.

"I can see two flying Goufs. No sign of the Apsalus yet."

The moment he woke up, Shiro had raised the periscope camera to survey the situation.

Fortunately, the desert winds were strong that night, and plenty of sand had blown over the camouflage netting, helping the Ground Type blend even more seamlessly into its surroundings.

That let Shiro observe the enemy right under their noses.

"Dopp Fighters... nine of them?"

"No, twelve. A squadron just flew over my head."

Eli immediately added to the information Shiro had gathered.

"Twelve Dopp Fighters, six Zaku, two Goufs, and that big one. Captain, are we still attacking?"

Sanders first confirmed the known numbers from his own vantage point, then asked the question.

"This isn't looking good. There are a lot of them."

Even though Eli had made the most cautious estimates of the Zeon forces they might face, he was still shocked by the size of the force.

The Dopp Fighters weren't much of a threat to Mobile Suits, but he hadn't expected them to have a Flight Test Type Gouf, too.

He knew reality would differ from the story, but this was a huge difference.

A force this mobile could keep the rear guard awake all night even on the front lines. The understaffed Zeon forces had somehow managed to deploy it in the rear.

It seemed that nearly shooting down the Apsalus had made Zeon nervous.

"By my estimate, White Base should have reached this area by now, right?"

Eli had delivered a pretty impressive line to Karen earlier, but now that he had to lead the two of them into a head-on assault against Zeon, he felt the weight of the decision.

If the White Fortress could back them up—even if it only arrived quickly once the battle began—Eli would have the courage to give the order to attack.

"Damn it..."

He still remembered that, in the original story, Shiro and the others had waited almost a week before the Apsalus showed up.

Eli could afford to wait, but the White Fortress couldn't stay at the Southeast Asia Base forever.

Before Eli could think it through, a heavy shadow fell across the clouds on the horizon.

Then the Apsalus plunged down through the clouds and appeared in their sights.

"Is that the Apsalus II?"

Seeing its markedly different shape, Eli made his judgment.

There were three Apsalus units. The first tested the Minovsky Particle Flight Unit, the second tested the Mega Particle Cannon, and only the third was the completed model.

The Mega Particle Cannon mounted on the front of the Apsalus made Eli even more uneasy.

At full power, that thing could shear off nearly half a mountain. Michel had survived in front of the Apsalus II in the story only because Aina had held back.

Eli swallowed.

"What do we do, Eli?"

Shiro's voice came through the comms again.

He was clearly holding back his emotions, suppressing his mounting urge to act and choosing to follow Eli's orders first.

"Give the order, Captain."

Sanders was even more straightforward, with all the discipline of a Federation soldier.

What should he do? Should he take a chance and assume the White Fortress had already arrived nearby, ready to come to their aid the moment they attacked?

Eli bit his lip and stared at the Apsalus.

It had clearly slowed down enough that even a Mobile Suit could keep up with it at a run.

A glimmer of understanding flashed through Eli's eyes.

Kindhearted Aina was worried about the Zaku and infantry standing guard on either side. She had no intention of speeding past them.

Without a doubt, that was another reason to attack.

But... but...

With firepower like that, even the Ground Type's armor wouldn't be able to withstand a hit.

Just as Eli was hesitating, two squadrons of six Dopp Fighters suddenly broke away from their circling formation and headed south.

They even flew right over Eli's position!

"What's going on?"

Eli immediately turned the periscope camera toward them and soon spotted the Dopp Fighters, now no more than tiny black dots on the horizon, engaging in battle.

Explosions from missiles and autocannons rang out across the sky.

For a moment, Eli heard what sounded like an electric current crackling by his ear.

"It's Amuro! He's flying the Core Fighter!"

"What? That boy?"

Shiro operated his own camera, but at this distance, he couldn't make out the combatants.

"Another hunch?"

While Shiro was still stunned, Sanders was already seated at the controls, repeatedly pressing the buttons in front of him to awaken the steel giant.

"It's something even harder to believe than a hunch. But either way, we're going in!"

Eli gripped the controls with both hands. The view on his screen immediately shifted to the feed from the unit's twin cameras.

The Ground Type rose straight up, shaking loose the sand and camouflage netting covering it.

A cloud of hot air blasted from the heat vents on its left chest.

All the while, it raised the Beam Rifle in its right hand!

"Vwoom!"

A pink beam cut through the night and pierced a Zaku that was still turning at the edge of the ravine!

"There are enemy fighters in the nearby airspace. The Dopp Fighters have gone to intercept them."

Norris listened to his subordinate's report, his brow furrowing at once.

One fighter shouldn't have been much of a problem, but, like Eli, he immediately realized what it meant.

A warship had to be nearby.

With that in mind, Norris immediately transmitted the photo his subordinate had sent to the other Flight Test Type Gouf flying beside him.

It showed the Blue Giant Star, Ramba Ral.

"Captain Ramba Ral, is this fighter part of the Trojan Horse's forces?"

Norris sent the photo and asked at once.

With Miss Aina's safety at stake, Norris couldn't afford to take any chances.

"Yes, it belongs to the Trojan Horse. So it's already nearby... What sharp instincts."

Ramba Ral saw the familiar red-and-blue fighter and immediately confirmed it.

Norris nodded and piloted his Mobile Suit over to the Apsalus's Zaku core module.

"Miss Aina, please climb to a higher altitude and retreat immediately. The Federation is attacking."

"Ah, they really... Yes. What kind of Federation forces are coming?"

"They're using the Trojan Horse's Mobile Suits..."

"Vwoom!"

Just as Norris answered, a pink beam shot through the air at close range and destroyed a Zaku!

The camera zoomed in, revealing a figure already well known across this Southeast Asian battlefield.

"The Devil of 06? What terrible timing..."

After confirming the unit's number, Norris glanced from the corner of his eye at the Apsalus cockpit indicator on the screen.

The turbine fans in the Flight Test Type Gouf's legs hummed, driving it upward.

In that brief moment, beams shot in from two other directions as well, taking down the Zakus.

"I'll protect Miss Aina!"